Rejoice
by kuragari nikkou
Summary: Rejoice the return of two smashers and the arrival of a new one. Chapter 2 is a possible follow-up to 'How Dare You' where Marth tries to apologize. Emphasis on 'tries.' No pairings.
1. Chapter 1

Everything © their respective owners

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KN: You know, I was happy with just Mewtwo and Lucas getting DLC, but then they go and…and they also add my favorite Fire Emblem lord and put a little effort into making him different and… -sobs- I'm so happy, I can't even…

KN: KN, Roy came back in June, why is this story so late? Well, better late than never, ah?!

 **Warning:** How do I Ryu? –stares at reference notes-

.-:-.-:-.-:-.

Ness, Toon Link, and Villager were already at the front of the stage waiting for Lucas to be officially brought into the Smash Bros roster while the rest of the smashers stayed in their respective areas.

As the curtains parted, Lucas shyly stepped onto the stage as the spotlight shined on him. The large TV screen behind him was playing his character trailer as the smashers applauded his great return. Hearing the cheers of his name made Lucas glance down at his shoes.

"I can see I was missed." Lucas rubbed the back of his head. "It's a little embarrassing…" He looked to the side of the stage for a little bit before returning his gaze to the audience.

"How about some news you guys weren't expecting?" Lucas asked. "I…uh…brought some other guys with me, heh heh…"

The smashers gave him varied curious looks before the blond boy gestured to the side of the stage and a red-haired teenager in blue armor stepped out.

Most smashers just stared, eyes wide, though some gasped and others said a few words in their surprise…

"N-no way…" and "He…?" and "What?!" were all said in the span of fourteen seconds.

The figure on the stage smiled as the trailer on the large TV screen changed to a new video.

"Don't forget about me!" Roy slipped into a fighting stance as he said this at the same time as his voice did in the video playing behind him.

The entire audience erupted into cheers. Rings of light formed around Roy, updating his outfit and looks to the standards of Super Smash Brothers 4. The Pheraen lord glanced down at his attire with a small grin and gave Lucas a high five.

"I wish I could've recorded the looks on your faces." Roy chuckled. "Anyway, you'll need to calm down because we're not done with announcements yet." Roy glanced at the side of the stage.

"Roy's right." Lucas nodded. "We've also got another fighter joining the roster."

"He's traveling the world and fought around three hundred unique fighters." Roy started. "You might already know his name, actually." Roy gestured to the side of the stage as Lucas had done before him and out stepped a man wearing a red headband and a white gi.

"I look forward to fighting with all of you." The figure said as the video behind him changed to a new trailer.

"Whoa, no way!" and "Who is that?" and "Him too?!" spread through the audience.

"Ryu, you were supposed to introduce yourself first." Lucas whispered to him.

"Ah…I forgot." Ryu looked away quickly.

"Ryu of Street Fighter has also joined the roster!" Roy announced for him. "Along with him comes the Suzaku Castle stage!"

"And that will conclude our announcements for now." Lucas bowed to the audience.

.-:-.-:-.-:-.

Small crowds formed around the returning fighters and the one newcomer. The crowds around the returning fighters were usually composed of old friends with a few new faces that wanted to meet them. Around Ryu was a crowd that formed out of pure curiosity.

And the crowd that formed around Roy was currently in danger of getting slashed.

Ike thought he should warn them, but it was already too late.

"CRITICAL HIIIIIT!"

The crowd around Roy was sent flying as the glow from a smash ball faded from a none-too-pleased Marth. He gave the crowd he injured an unimpressed glance as he sheathed his falchion.

"I see you have little regard for other people as usual…" Roy sighed.

"What are you talking about?" Marth feigned innocence. "I even brought your mother with me." He gestured to Lyn, who was standing by his side after the crowd cleared. "I think I deserve some thanks." The Hero King crossed his arms.

"Congratulations, Roy!" Lyn wrapped her arms around him. "I'm so happy for you."

"Thanks, mom." Roy returned the hug. "I'm…glad to be here…"

"How are the others doing in Pherae?" Lyn asked as they parted. "Is your father faring well?"

"Pherae is stable." Roy thought back fondly. "My knights and Lilina have assured me that nothing has gone amiss while I traveled with Wolt, and father is much healthier these days."

"That's good to hear." Lyn breathed a sigh of relief. She glanced at a slightly fidgeting Marth with a small grin on her face. Roy noticed the direction of her gaze and gave Marth a similar grin. The Hero King looked away for a second before he walked to Roy and gave him a tight hug.

"I've missed you." Marth said, all pretense falling.

"I can see that." Roy chuckled, returning the action with just as much feeling.

"Your boots lack style, by the way." The ex-prince commented as they parted. "Honestly, who designs these things? You look so flashy now; it's terrible."

"Hm, I don't know." Roy gave his new attire another once-over. "I kind of like it."

"I think it looks good too." Ike chimed in. Marth glared at him briefly, but then seemed to think better of it and ignored him.

"You looked better before…" Marth muttered under his breath.

"That…too…is the strength…of the Hero King…" Lucina rasped as she struggled to her feet. The tacticians helped her and Chrom to their feet despite their own injuries.

"Truly…legendary…" Chrom agreed, wiping the blood from his mouth.

"Are you all okay?" Marth rushed to their side. "Had I known you were all in the crowd, I certainly wouldn't have attacked any of you. My deepest apologies." He bowed.

"It's not your fault…Hero King…" The female tactician assured him, dusting rubble off her cloak.

"You were just…excited to see…your friend again…" The male tactician added, massaging a sore spot behind his neck.

"It's not an excuse." Marth asserted, letting Chrom and Lucina lean on him. He looked back at Roy. "I'll catch up with you later, Roy. I'm going to take these guys to Dr. Mario now."

"All right." Roy called back. "Take your time." He watched Marth leave with the Ylisseans, smiling.

"Marth's really changed." Ike observed. "I'm sure you can see that better than I can."

"Yeah…" Roy looked down at the floor wistfully. "I'm glad you've helped him get to this point."

"By being his stress ball, yeah." Ike rolled his eyes.

"Can't you learn to take a compliment, young man?" Lyn gave the Tellian lord a pointed look.

"It's okay, mom." Roy calmed her down. "It's not like he's wrong, anyway. Though," his eyes fixed on the spot where Marth used to be, "Marth's been smiling a lot more lately… _That_ makes me happier than being in the roster."

.-:-.-:-.-:-.

Ness, Toon Link, and Villager stood comfortably near Lucas while Mewtwo watched them from a farther distance, all but leaning against a wall.

"This is Villager." Ness gestured to Villager. "His palette swaps consist entirely of alternate costumes. We call them alternate costumes, but they're all actual people. They don't talk much, but they're really good at catching bugs and fish."

"They're also really good at interior decorating and making the perfect snowmen." Toon Link added.

Villager blushed under the praise as Lucas extended a hand to him.

"It's nice to meet you." Lucas said cheerily as they shook hands. "I hope we'll all have a good match together."

"Pika!" Pikachu raced over to Lucas along with some yellow pikmin.

"Hey, Pikachu." Lucas greeted them.

"PK Thunder!" Ness and Lucas used the same move to form a zig-zag shape for their onlookers. The display finished with both bolts colliding and forming a shower of sparks. The two kids high-fived at the end as Pikachu and the yellow pikmin applauded.

" _You two have been practicing._ " Mewtwo smiled to himself. " _Excellent control, as always._ "

"Well, we have to represent our franchise." Ness said.

"And we're the only two who can." Lucas smiled.

"For Earthbound!" Ness cheered.

"And Mother!" Lucas added.

Villager raised his arms up to cheer as well, and Toon Link raised his sword.

.-:-.-:-.-:-.

Around Ryu were several of the original twelve, Little Mac, and Megaman.

"I guess I should've expected you to be here." Megaman grinned. "You always find the big fighting tournaments one way or another."

"I'm disappointed that I had not found this place sooner," Ryu contemplated glancing at Little Mac, "but maybe that was for the best as well. I heard that the previous tournaments did not have nearly as many fighters."

"Nope." Mario answered. "I remember when-a the first-a tournament was just twelve-a people."

"And now look at us…" Captain Falcon gestured to the huge hall of smashers.

"Poyo." Kirby chirped, squishing himself flat against the floor. "Biiiig."

"It's quite the sight…" Ryu agreed.

"Still, two-a final smashes?" Mario cocked his head. "I didn't-a know someone could-a do that!"

"I don't know what this 'final smash' is," Ryu said, "but if it helps me in my fights here, then I'll use them to the fullest."

"We should probably get you acquainted with the rules of this tournament." Megaman brought up. "We don't have health bars here, after all."

"You don't?" Ryu raised a brow at this. "How do you know when you've won the fight then?"

"Depends on the type of match." Fox explained.

"The standard-a match is Time." Luigi continued. "In Time-a, you set a number of-a minutes and try to KO the most-a fighters in that amount of-a time. To KO an opponent-a, you have to knock them off-a the stage."

"So this is a match of throws and shoving?" Ryu asked.

"Not quite…" Fox shook his head.

"You can knock someone off a stage when you raise their damage percentage to a high enough number." Megaman elaborated.

"Damage percentage…" Ryu echoed, blank look suggesting he was still lost.

"Poyo!" Kirby squeaked.

"Ah, I see." Ryu nodded. "Interesting."

"Wait, can you understand Kirby, Ryu?" Megaman asked.

"Not at all!" Ryu answered earnestly. Megaman and most of the original twelve gave him a look (it was difficult with Samus, however) while Kirby and Little Mac's expressions remained unchanged. They liked this fighter.

.-:-.-:-.-:-.

KN: Okay, I'll stop the first chapter here since Marth's whole "I tried" thing takes up half the story… It will be in the next chapter.


	2. Chapter 2

Everything © their respective owners

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KN: Here's the part that makes it a possible follow-up to 'How Dare You.'

 **Warning:** Marth. That's it.

.-:-.-:-.-:-.

Ike found Roy on the balcony, watching the sun go down. The Pheraen lord turned when he heard the sound of boots clinking against the floor and beckoned the other lord with a tilt of his head. They stayed next to each other in silence until Ike decided to speak.

"Didn't you say you didn't want to be here?" Ike asked Roy. The Pheraen lord glanced at him before casting his eyes to the ground, small smile on his face.

"I don't really have much of a choice in the matter, now do I?" Roy answered.

"Right…" Ike looked away. "Uh…I kind of voted for you," he admitted, "so sorry it came at the cost of your comfort…" He said that last part in a quieter voice. Roy sighed and raised his arms in a half-shrug.

"You don't make the roster decisions, Ike, so it's hardly your fault." Roy blew a stray hair out of his face. "And while I'm a little upset that my traveling's been put on hold," Roy stretched his arms out and let them fall, "I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little happy to be here."

"Because Lyn and Marth are here too, right?" The Tellian lord asked.

"And you." Roy reminded him. "We're friends too." He assured the taller lord. "And you guys remind me of the new people I meet and the new things I learn not just when I come here, but wherever I go. And I never would've known you or your world existed if I didn't have the chance I had." Roy smiled serenely.

Ike opened his mouth to say something when the telling clack of boots against the floor stopped him.

"Ike." The Altean lord stated woodenly, as if not used to saying the other's name without some hint of contempt. "I…I need a word with you. Alone."

"Can it wait?" Ike sighed.

' _And I was all set to say something good too.'_ Ike thought to himself.

"I think you should just go with him, Ike." Roy advised, gesturing to Marth's expression with a tilt of his head. The top half of the ex-prince's face darkened, eyes narrowed slightly, and the corners of his mouth had turned downward in a small frown.

"It's his choice." Marth said in a way that implied Ike had zero choices if he didn't want to get thrown off the balcony. Ike grit his teeth for a little bit before he took his hands off the balcony railing and turned towards Marth.

"Right, let's go, then." Ike gave in.

"I'll be in our room when I'm done wasting time here, Marth." Roy notified the Hero King as Ike walked to him. "Don't hurt anyone, okay?"

"I don't intend to." Marth answered. "Or at the very least, I hope it doesn't come to that."

"Hmm…" Roy hummed as the two left the balcony.

Marth and Ike had barely walked down the hall from the balcony entrance before the Hero King stopped short and turned his attention to Ike.

"We're stopping here?" Ike asked. "This is hardly 'alone.'"

"I think it's best if we're somewhat close to Roy…" Marth admitted. "That way he can stop me from punching your face in when you eventually get me angry."

"Ah." Ike leaned against a wall. "So? What did you need to talk to me alone for?"

Marth stared at him, studying his expression quietly. The Hero King glanced down at the floor and clenched his fists. Then he relaxed his hands and sighed, lifting his head to make eye contact again.

"I have a lot of things I need to apologize to you for." The ex-prince finally said.

' _Yeah, no kidding.'_ Ike resisted the urge to roll his eyes. _'Though I shouldn't say that out loud or you'd punch my face in.'_

"To be honest, I was going to apologize to you if you left Brawl and if you had gotten replaced." Marth admitted. "When Roy was starting to leave before Brawl, I got upset because I hadn't made it up to him for everything I'd done yet." The Hero King looked thoughtful for a moment. "I still haven't, honestly." He decided.

"That's not a problem since Roy already forgives you for it." Ike reasoned.

"He shouldn't!" Marth snapped. "And you certainly aren't going to."

' _Don't tell me what to do.'_ Ike thought, but knew better than to say out loud.

"I didn't want Roy to leave thinking I still hated him or just tolerated him because I didn't." Marth continued at Ike's silence. "I hadn't hated him for a long time, but it took me a while to figure out how to express that. When Roy was gone, I wouldn't have anyone I could talk to comfortably." He turned away. "I would've been alone. As much as I hate to admit that…"

"You could've just talked to me." Ike muttered. Marth turned back to look at him, unimpressed.

"I'm not going to talk to some fool who mistakes me for a girl." Marth narrowed his eyes.

' _Are you going to hold a grudge over that forever?'_ Ike wondered. _'I can't be the only one who made that mistake.'_

"Come to think of it, Roy was one of the only ones who never made such a stupid mistake." Marth thought back. "Samus and Sheik too." Marth raised his arms in a half-shrug and sighed. "Why is it that the majority of smashers can't tell the difference between a male body and a female's? It baffles me."

"Blame the character designers and the players!" Ike threw his hands up in the air.

"But all that aside, I had prepared a speech and everything this time around if you had gotten replaced." Marth scratched his cheek and glanced at the wall. "I was going to say a lot, and say it more eloquently than when I had apologized to Roy…" Marth narrowed his eyes.

"But you didn't get replaced at all." Marth said as if he still couldn't believe it. "You stayed and…that _pissed me off_."

"Well, it's not like _I_ made that choice!" was what Ike wanted to say, but he was more shocked that Marth was using such blunt language compared to how the ex-prince usually spoke.

"Not because it ruined the speech I spent weeks writing or anything." Marth clarified. "I'm not _petty_ , after all."

' _I bet you were still upset about not getting to say your speech anyway.'_ Ike thought.

"I got angry because I thought that you being here meant that Roy couldn't be, and well…" Marth gestured to the balcony where Roy was still undoubtedly relaxing. "I think we've proved that that isn't the case." He glanced down at the floor again. "I can't exactly use that as an excuse to hate you now."

"You could never use that as a reason to hate me." Ike put a hand on his forehead. "That was out of my control, and if I had the choice, I would've left a long time ago!"

"That's _not_ the only reason I hate you." Marth frowned. "Roy is important to me, but that doesn't mean my life revolves around him." He rolled his eyes. "I've got a lot of reasons to hate someone like you."

"Oh good, I'd love to hear all of them for once." Ike rolled his eyes. "So? What're your other 99 problems with me?"

"You don't speak Japanese." Marth immediately stated.

"…" Ike stared at him.

' _Of all the absurd-!'_

"Neither do the Ylisseans!" Ike pointed out, throwing his hands in the air.

"Not true." Marth promptly denied. "Their game has language options, so they can be well-versed in either language." The ex-prince explained. "You aren't. Do you know how uncomfortable I am when I have to talk to you?!" Marth crossed his arms. "I have to constantly translate, and it's exhausting. I don't know how Roy puts up with it."

' _What, so Roy has this problem too?'_ Ike thought back. _'Sheesh, it must've been tough for him to talk with everyone again, then…'_

"I…didn't know…" Ike looked down at the floor. Maybe that was the reason Marth was always so angry in Brawl? And that was probably also the reason he liked when Roy visited? Someone to talk to comfortably when English got too difficult?

Then again, Ike doubted that Marth was only friends with Roy because of that… And Marth seemed to have more problems than language…

"Of course you wouldn't," Marth scoffed, "you're an idiot."

"If this was how you apologized to Roy, then I have no idea how _he_ puts up with _you_." Ike crossed his arms. Marth had the nerve to look offended.

"You _piss me off_." Marth all but growled. "I hate the way you fight. I hate the way you look. I hate how everyone likes you so easily – even Roy, who took me so long to just talk with casually." The ex-prince clenched his fists before he briskly walked over to a table and knocked it over. "I don't see the appeal! What is there to like?!"

Ike opened his mouth to say how he thought likewise, but Marth wasn't done.

"But then…I fail to understand how _anyone_ could possibly like _me_ either…!" The Hero King slammed a fist against the wall, panting heavily.

The words died in Ike's throat. For a long time, the Tellian lord had thought that maybe Marth was narcissistic or had some type of superiority complex not unlike Daein's Mad King, Ashnard. And that maybe Marth didn't like him because he was really only a mercenary and didn't possess a drop of noble blood.

It isn't until this day that the mercenary realizes just far off the mark he'd really been.

Marth's breathing steadied, hands unconsciously flying to fix his clothing and hair as he collected himself, returning his composure to resemble that of a noble's. He sighed, gaze not lifting from the floor.

"Maybe this was too early…" Marth decided, turning his sights back to Ike. "Just…just forget it for now." He ordered, brushing the hair out of his eyes as he made to leave. "I'm going to try this again when I have all my thoughts together."

Before the mercenary knew it, he was already following behind the ex-prince as he left. If Ike didn't say something… _anything_ now…

"L-look," Ike finally managed to articulate, making Marth pause his steps, "you don't need to have _every_ thought collected before you talk." He stuttered.

' _Now's not the time to falter!_ ' Ike steeled himself.

"Just say everything you want to say." Ike said. "Like how you did just now. I think I like it better this way because…" Ike glanced back at the ruined table, "it's like you trust me enough to tell me what you're _really_ thinking."

Marth stayed silent. Ike wondered if that meant he overstepped his bounds, and the ex-prince was going to punch his face in at any moment. The mercenary mentally braced himself when Marth finally said something.

"I'll keep that in mind." Was all the Hero King said before he left the hallway.

For the first time in all the time he'd been here, Ike thought he finally made some real progress.

.-:-.-:-.-:-.

Roy was lying on his stomach in bed, reading the books the tacticians from Ylisse lent him. It was…odd, to say the least, how the Ylisseans seemed to interpret Elibean lore. None of the historians seemed to understand just how Elibe's timeline worked in terms of chronology and came up with multiple histories that eventually melded into one.

His reading was interrupted by Marth kicking the door down, slamming it closed again, and then by the ex-prince promptly jumping into his bed looking every bit like he couldn't understand how to solve a weapon shortage problem.

Roy raised a brow at this before he closed his book and got up to shelve it. He supposed that the method the Ylisseans used to decipher Elibe's mysteries could wait.

"It didn't go well?" The Pheraen lord stated more than asked.

"Understatement of the year." The Altean lord huffed, unstrapping his armor. He had forgotten that it kind of hurt if you flopped down on something wearing metal plates.

"Please tell me you didn't try to drown him." Roy sighed as he made his way back to his bed, untying his headband.

"We weren't near any body of water," Marth tossed his shoulder guards to some corner of the room, "and I'm not determined enough to try to drown him in the marble floor somehow." He started removing his cape and boots next. "I don't hate him that much."

"I wonder if it's actually _him_ you hate." Roy hummed, running a hand through his mess of red hair.

"Enough." Marth pulled his gloves off. "I'm tired of dealing with this. First that dimwit expresses something I couldn't in the simplest words, and now you're trying to make think about things that piss me off."

"I'm not trying to make you think about anything." Roy said as he lied down on his back. "I'm succeeding."

"Yes, you've succeeded." Marth set his hair ornament on the nightstand. "Go claim your prize at the counter." He made a dismissive wave at the other lord.

"Fine, I'll take the biggest one you've got!" Roy chuckled. "In all seriousness, though, I'm glad you tried."

"Trying isn't succeeding." Marth replied as he lied on his side, facing away from Roy.

"You really are the worst critic I've ever met." Roy rolled his eyes. "For both yourself and others… I think the effort is still worth praising."

"I'll be worth the praise when I've done it a second time and better than the last." Marth asserted determinedly.

"Well, if you insist," Roy shrugged, "then there's nothing I can do to stop you…."

They relaxed in their separate beds for a moment, taking comfort in the silence. Roy rolled onto his side, facing away from Marth as the Hero King shifted position to lie on his back.

"Let's have a match tomorrow." Marth suddenly proposed. At Roy's silence, the ex-prince continued. "I want to see how much you've improved in the time I haven't seen you."

"Of course." Roy accepted, smiling. The two drifted off to sleep not long after.

.-:-.-:-.-:-.

KN: Why are friendship fics so fun to write? I should've written more gen stuff a long time ago!

KN: Oh yeah, here's an omake. It's kind of awful humor, though…

.-:-.-:-.-:-.

OMAKE

.-:-.-:-.-:-.

"Ah." Ike leaned against a wall. "So? What did you need to talk to me alone for?"

' _What was the expression English speakers use when they apologize to people?'_ Marth thought. He frowned and tapped his foot impatiently. _'Oh wait, I remember!'_

"Go fuck yourself." Marth said.

Ike looked every bit like he was a fool for expecting anything otherwise, and Marth decided that even if Ike didn't accept his apology – and he certainly wouldn't blame the mercenary if he didn't – then it was okay because he had at least done it.

' _Why does he look so proud of himself?'_ Ike wondered.

Marth's proud look dissolved when he had later informed Roy of what he had said to Ike. The Pheraen lord seemed so disappointed in him for some reason. Maybe the ex-prince just didn't try hard enough?

.-:-.-:-.-:-.

KN: …I'm so sorry. I don't know why this keeps happening.


End file.
